|By Angel Krasimirov

|By Angel Krasimirov

|By Angel Krasimirov

|By Angel Krasimirov

SHUMEN, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Iran's first two women volleyball players to compete outside the Islamic Republic joined Bulgarian club Shumen this month, a move which has taken years of negotiation with Iranian authorities and which could help break down some gender barriers at home.

Women are still not allowed to attend men's volleyball matches in Iran despite attempts since President Hassan Rouhani's election in 2015 to relax some of the strict Muslim rules that limit women's activities to the family and home.

Maedeh Borhani, 28, and team captain Zeinab Giveh, 34, arrived in the northeastern town of Shumen amid a rising tide of nationalism, sparked by huge migrant inflows to Europe over the past two years, with Bulgaria being a popular transit routes.